What's Your Thought Process Prior to Selling or Keeping Your 'Ukes

When I first started playing the uke 4 1/2 years ago, in the first year had 16, then I got a really good Kala solid cedar top and it got me to be more discriminating. I analyzed my collection and decided to keep only the ones that had the most projection and played the best, which brought it down to 4. Since then, in the last 3 years, I've added 4 more, all of which are better choices than any I ended up selling or gifting.


8 tenor cutaway ukes, 3 acoustic bass ukes, 8 solid body bass ukes, 8 mini electric bass guitars

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I keep going around in circles lately. My latest effort to sell a couple Vintage Martins resulted in no sales. The collection is from a buy what you like thought process followed several years latter by a herd thinning that didn't really effect the Martins that much. I know that the old ukuleles are not as coveted as new ones yet I think that some how that will change. A price point reduction doesn't set well with my thinking.
I'm going back to rescue operations on the old Martins I've accumulated and depend on that process to reward me and not expect any financial rewards.
 
I am in the process of thinning the number of ukes that I have. I am struggling to get down to about 12. There are some that play better than others, some sound better and some are just way more attractive. I am keeping the ones I have bonded with but I have several that I'm on the fence about but there are a few I never bonded with and those are the first ones to go. They are all great instruments but I think having around 12 is the right number for me and I want these other wonderful instruments to be played and not just collect dust.
 
I guess for me, I would be considered a " crazy Uke man " .... In a very strange sense, I consider them as my kids or personal possessions.... All the ones I own are very different from each other, even my four two Sopraninos and four Sopranissimo ..I learned a hard lesson years back... I sold a guitar because I wasn't playing it much over the years, I knew as soon as I sold it I would probably regret it. Over the years after that, I wanted to play even if it was just few a few min but I couldn't because I didn't have a guitar. It wasn't until years later when I was able to play music again... If I dont have to feed it or take care of it, and if it doesn't take up alot of space, why not keep it...
 
Your situation is a bit different than the usual buyer/seller as you are drifting away from the ukulele towards golf. I did the opposite, I was a golfaholic who found salvation in the ukulele:p

I have bought and sold a lot of ukuleles. The ones I have kept through all the buying and selling have met all these criteria in order.

#1 is sound, I have to absolutely love the sound.
#2 is playability because if I can't play it well it will not sound good
#3 is looks, coming from a woodworking background ukes with beautiful high quality woods capture my heart.

So deciding on what ukes you should keep, make your own list of "criteria" and see how the instruments you own place themselves.
I was going back through the thread again. I think it is an interesting comment in that I think that a lot of people go all out on one thing, then get tired of it and move on to the next one thing. One can have more than a single interest. But in regards to ukuleles, I never buy one with the intention to get rid of it.
 
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I've been through about 20 ukes since I started 4 1/2 years ago. I've shed some because they never really sounded right (probably operator error) or for purely utilitarian reasons -- like the Pete Howlett tenor I sold (and wish I had back!!!) because I hated having to leave it in the case all the time and couldn't admire it.

Now, every one in the collection has a purpose. The bari, so I can play open tuning and linear tuning. The Firefly because sometimes you need a banjo. The Makala because it has a pickup and I can plug it in if that strikes my fancy.

The only all-solid instrument I own is an Ohana soprano mahogany. It may be my best-playing, best-sounding uke but it has to stay humidified any time the heat is on in our drafty house. Irreplaceable for the price and the joy it brings, even so.

I'll pick up any of the others any time, depending on the mood. Much like Mike and other posters, if I find myself not playing something for a long time (more than a few months), then maybe it's time to move on.

If I were to add to the collection, I'd get a 6-string or another 8-string, just for the jangle. (My first uke was a Kala 8-string, I really had no idea what I was doing, and I was happy to re-home it.) If I did, something would have to go, however.
 
........ But in regards to ukuleles, I never buy one with the intention to get rid of it.

Quite so. :)

I never have the feeling that I might get rid of it when I buy one - & if I hadn't of collected so many of the cheaper ones, I wouldn't have given any away.

(I may not be playing them as much as before, but I'm sure I'll come back to them once I've cracked playing my harmonicas. ;) )
 
...I know that the old ukuleles are not as coveted as new ones yet I think that some how that will change...

Dunno, seems like old ukes, especially Martins, are highly coveted, way more than new Martins. Hope your sales prospects improve, as you certainly seem to be passionate about them, and restore them lovingly.
 
In regards to most everything I own, if I haven't picked it up in a year, I can live without it.

Not me. If it was something I did well enough to enjoy I'll hold onto it. My surfboards are a great example. When our boys were growing up we were in the water all the time. After they were gone the boards sat in the garage for years. One of our boys got me back into the water and I discovered something... there are a lot less people out there during the week. This is pretty nice. I had lost some weight over the years so the boards work even better for me. Had I sold them the money would have been long gone. And it is a little nostalgic to ride the same boards that I had ridden with our kids, especially when they come out to visit.

John
 
I should sell some, but I can't bring myself to part with them. I think there are three I might put up for sale - maybe.

As for buying, I like "beautiful," provided the quality is there. I've seen some for $1,500 that just don't appeal to me, but others for much less catch my eye - and my money. I spend hours reading and watching reviews before I finally buy a uke.

I made three cigar box ukes and one tenor, and I would never sell them (as if someone would want them:) )
 
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I have bought and sold a lot of ukuleles. The ones I have kept through all the buying and selling have met all these criteria in order.

#1 is sound, I have to absolutely love the sound.
#2 is playability because if I can't play it well it will not sound good
#3 is looks, coming from a woodworking background ukes with beautiful high quality woods capture my heart.

So deciding on what ukes you should keep, make your own list of "criteria" and see how the instruments you own place themselves.

I ask myself these questions (but not aloud, of course):

1) Have I stopped playing it regularly?

2) Do I no longer look forward to playing it?

3) Does it essentially duplicate something I already have?

4) Will selling it help me justify buying something else (not necessarily another ukulele, but definitely something music-related).

If I answer “yes” to two of those, I start writing up an ad and taking photos. (At least that’s the best-case scenario.)

Was just thinking both of these lists are a great way to help decide whether to sell a uke or not. Thanks Dave!
Often I have to record my ukes side by side and critically listen to each, to decide which I prefer sound wise.

My difficulty is when I apply this logic and still have too many ukes and can’t decide.
 
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I



Was just thinking both of these lists are a great way to help decide whether to sell a uke or not. Thanks Dave!
Often I have to record my ukes side by side and critically listen to each, to decide which I prefer sound wise.

My difficulty is when I apply this logic and still have too many ukes and can’t decide.

Hodge,

Aren't the recordings somewhat different from the actual sounds of your instruments? Compression, limitations of microphones, recording device, etc. Or are you evaluating them on how they sound specifically for recordings you make?

I remember back in the day when record companies used to play back their mixes on crappy speakers and adjust to that sound. Because they felt that the vast majority of the listeners would be listing on equally poor-sounding speakers. (Not claiming this is the case with you, it just brought back that anecdote in my memory. :rolleyes: )
 
Hodge,

Aren't the recordings somewhat different from the actual sounds of your instruments? Compression, limitations of microphones, recording device, etc. Or are you evaluating them on how they sound specifically for recordings you make?

I remember back in the day when record companies used to play back their mixes on crappy speakers and adjust to that sound. Because they felt that the vast majority of the listeners would be listing on equally poor-sounding speakers. (Not claiming this is the case with you, it just brought back that anecdote in my memory. :rolleyes: )

I’m not a recording expert, but my recorded sound files are heard pretty accurately compared to played live to my old ears. :)

My recording set up includes a Blue Yeti Microphone and Audacity, with playback through decent Audio Technica speakers. When I do an instrument comparison recording I keep the same distance from the microphone with the same settings on the microphone and software, for all the instruments I want to compare. I don’t do any post-recording processing. This at least takes some of the variability between recordings out. Mostly the recording helps reinforce what I already know from playing live.

Here’s one I did last month with most of my baritones: https://app.box.com/s/0ubf2zm39jixpwh6s2b8f77plyxe4sey
 
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I've recently decided to part with some of my accumulation in favor of Hawaiian made ukulele's (with some exceptions, like the Opio or Koalana). I just like the sound too much to play anything else. I mainly have Koaloha instuments, but plan to get a Kamaka and Kanilea eventually..then branch out from there. I recently sold my Martin T1K and have a Mainland tenor, Kala tenor with pickup and a Bruko slim soprano on my sell list. The one that I am keeping is my Du Barry Handmade Martin copy from the 20's. It has a ton of repairs and the sound hole smells like an old wooden trunk...but it plays nice. I do have a soft spot for vintage instruments by well known makers...so there is that too.
 
Currently, I’m selling through my collection to try to consolidate many ukes that have their own unique character into “one uke to rule them all,” if you will. No guarantees there, but then again there rarely are in life.

The decision to just get it over with, for me, is like ripping off a bandaid. It’ll hurt for a little bit to part with a friend, but it is necessary to grow and to continue to be able to afford to try new ukes. Ok, the analogy fell apart there at the end, but you all get the idea.
 
I need to be brave. It'll only hurt for a moment. You're a big boy now... Maybe I'll be able to sell some soon. It needs to be done. I've run out of room!
 
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